Voice from the Past
by Jojo64
Summary: An Ext. Universe fanfic based on the idea of Vivi's fate at the end. What if he did die, as rumors claim? But what happened if Kuja had built in a back-up plan, that would ensure his victory...even in the grave? Please R+R, this is my first fanfic! ^_^;
1. Prologue

A Voice from the Past...  
by Jojo  
  
Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy 9, Squaresoft does, I get no money from this, I wrote this because I didn't want the story to end, yadda yadda....  
  
Hope you enjoy! *bow*  
  
  
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Prologue  
  
-....Farewell....My memories will be a part of the sky...-  
  
  
Zidane Tribal opened his eyes suddenly, startled. The voice...he heard it again...the voice of a friend long passed away. Rubbing his eyes, Zidane tried to rise to see where he was, but something warm and soft kept him down. He remembered now - he was in bed, at Alexandria Castle, with Queen Garnet's, aka Dagger*, sleeping form wrapped around him tightly. He sighed in contentment. It was only two days since the fateful day he returned to his love, and both Zidane and Garnet spent every moment of those two days with each other alone.   
  
Mainly, the two spent their days in Dagger's bedroom, talking by the bedroom window, abandoning all thought of the kingdom for now and focusing on just each other. They talked about what had happened those eight lost months - how Zidane escaped, how the kingdoms formed a union and truce, what everyone else had done during those months, how (mostly) everyone had planned to surprise Dagger when Zidane recovered...and the fate of their dearest friend, the Black Mage, Vivi Ornitier. Zidane shut his eyes in regret at that thought.   
  
Shortly after the technology to extend the lives of Black Mages* and to give them the ability of procreation, thanks to the brilliant mind of Doctor Tot, Vivi had asked that 9 sons be created as symbols of this new generation...and died shortly after. Stopped was Vivi's word for it. His body, clothing and all except for his hat, was buried amongst the rest of the stopped Mages. His signature steeple hat was propped on the staff that he was so used to carrying, jammed in the soil to mark his grave. Zidane thought to himself of all the good times they'd had...teaching each other, 'letting themselves go' under the stars...  
  
Dagger stirred, murmuring quietly in her sleep. The twin moons were still very high in the sky - dawn would not come for another few hours, and Zidane didn't want her to worry, especially since the following afternoon would be filled with activity; after all, Dagger had been away from the throne for two days, and the coronation! Looking at her again, he smiled and kissed her on the forehead, and was rewarded by a gentle squeeze around his torso. Zidane had finally found the thing he had been searching for his entire life - a place, and family, to call home.  
  
  
But there was an empty gap in that family.  
  
  
Because Vivi was long gone, never to return.  
  
  
  
Yet, even in that, there was a bit of uncertainty. Because the day that their former enemy, and creator of the Black Mages, Kuja, died, his secret (one he did not mean to hide) died with him as well. A backup plan that made the Black Mages what he himself was not and could never be...  
  
  
  
  
  
*Dagger is the nick that Garnet chose to disguise herself as. Only Zidane and their other teammates most intimately call her that.  
*Black Mages: powerful entities known for their oversized clothes, shadowy faces except for bright rounded yellow eyes, and their steeple-shaped hats, that were formed and empowered by the Mist.  
*Doctor Tot is the owlman scholar who was Garnet/Dagger's mentor.  
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I'll have Chapter two up hopefully around Thanksgiving. I know, I know...the story's sorta wierd, and I probably wrote it sorta stupid. ^^; What can ya expect, it's my first fanfic.   
  
Anyway, thanks for reading this first chapter. :) 


	2. Chapter 1

A Voice from the Past  
by Jojo  
  
  
  
Whoo-hoo! Got Chapter One in! :D  
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Chapter One  
  
  
"All hail to Queen Garnet and Prince Zidane!"  
  
Even amidst all the cheers of roaring crowd, the voice of Captain Adelbert Steiner, leader of the Knights of Pluto, could still be heard loud and clearly enough for everyone to hear. 'How does Dagger get used to that?!' Zidane thought, rubbing his ears. But otherwise, he couldn't complain about anything else with the coronation. Standing at the balcony overlooking the rest of Alexandria castle town, Queen Dagger and the newly-coronated Prince Zidane were waving and greeting the loyal subjects of Alexandria. He couldn't feel any happier - Zidane's title of Prince not only made him eligible for Princess Garnet's hand in marriage, but it also gave him freedom to come and go as he pleased, if he ever neededd to refresh himself with the freedoms of the outdoors. Of course, he'd never want to leave Dagger's side, not after those 8 months without her... 'Although,' he thought, smiled at Garnet, 'if I ever do need a breather from the castle, I could always bring a certain, royal companion with me. I've done it once before, haven't I?'  
  
  
A flashback played in his mind, to the day he first met Dagger...the botched kidnapping attempt...the swinging from tower to airship...the exilhiration they'd both felt during the game of Cat-and-Mouse...the idioticity of Steiner when he failed to notice the monster Bomb behind him...and the way he screamed... Zidane chuckled to himself at that thought.  
  
"What's so funny, Zidane?" Dagger asked, inquiringly.  
"I wonder if Rusty's could scream any louder if we placed another Bomb behind him.." Zidane said, still reliving Steiner's high-pitched scream.  
  
Dagger smacked him upside the head playfully, chuckling at the thought as well. The memories of the past were happy ones, but nevertheless, she had to let them go. If she were to be a successful ruler of her people, she had to get those sad thoughts out of her head, for every thought, every memory of the past reminded her of poor Vivi. She shook her head determinedly, and took Zidane's hand.  
  
"Zidane, let's go inside...your coronation party's most likely begun downstairs, and you know how those nobles get if we're late," Dagger said, dragging him inside.  
"Alrighty then, let's go, shall we?" Zidane said, smiling one of his infamous mischief smiles.  
"Zidane...whatever you're planning....don't even--YEEAAAGGH!! PUT ME DOWN!" Dagger exclaimed, for Zidane had picked the opportunity to pick up Dagger by the side with one arm.   
"It'll be faster this way, after all, we're getting late, are we not?" Zidane mocked jokingly.  
"Zidane!"  
"Alright, alright..." Zidane placed the princess down, and was greeted by a cold, hard stare that quickly broke into a wide, grinning smile. Embracing Zidane, who was very taken aback by this sudden action, Dagger quickly took hold of Zidane's tail and tugged him rather forcefully.  
"YEOW! Dagger!!"  
"Let's go, you little rascal." Dagger said, still grinning. Zidane's yelps of pain could still be heard from the upstairs.  
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While Zidane and Dagger were having a merry time at Alexandria Castle, Amarant Coral* and Lani* were investigating a series of events taking place on the Outer Continent, north of the Mist Continent housing Alexandria. The dwarf people of the mountaintop village, Condie Petie, were reporting strange events occuring at the Iifa tree, the very thing that almost caused the destruction of Gaia...it seemed that pinkish lights were seen flying towards it, some from the direction of the Black Mage Village, others from the direction of the Mist Continent for reasons unknown. Also strange was a report of voices and flashes from the jewels of Madain Sari's Eidolon Wall. Madain Sari was a former village of summoners of powerful beings called Eidolons, but was destroyed as a casualty of war. Its only occupants were a family of Moogles, fairy creatures with the bodies of cats topped with a pom-pom on their heads.   
  
"This sucks. We can't even get CLOSE to that damned tree 'cause of that barrier!" Lani said, frustrated. She had spent the last thirty minutes zapping herself on the magic barrier surrounding the tree, trying to get in with no avail.  
"Then we go to the next best place to search..." Amarant replied, gruffly.  
"Where's this?"  
"You should know. You've been living there for three months," Amarant said, giving her a look. He knew what'd come next...  
"We're going to see the Moogles again?!!" Lani exclaimed, squealing. Amarant covered his ears to protect them from permanent damage.  
"Lani, squeal one more time and I'm gonna leave you were you stand," Amarant grumpily said.   
"I know, I know, I'm sorry...but I haven't seen them in-"  
"-5 months, you've told me already. Now hush up and GET DOWN!" Amarant screamed suddenly, knocking her to the ground.  
"What the hell are you doing, you big oaf?!"   
  
But before Lani could add anything else to scream, two piercing blades flashed above their heads, almost grazing them. Looking where the attacks had come from, Amarant and Lani found their eyes placed on not one, but two Abadons, winged, bug monsters after one thing - blood. Screeching loudly, the two bugs launched themselves to attack.  
  
"Heh, figured it wouldn't be easy. Lani, you ready?" Amarant asked, brandishing iron knuckles and his throwing discs.  
"You bet...my axe has been growing hungry for some fresh meat..." Lani said, swinging her oversized battleaxe threateningly.  
  
The two charged, all pretense forgotten. The battle exhilirated and gave them a certain kind of rush not found anywhere else. It had been so long since they had a real battle..  
  
But even with the fight going on, Amarant couldn't help wondering. The last, as well as only time they fought Abadons, they were in an alternate dimension, Pandemonium. What were they doing here?  
  
Amarant shook the thought off from his head. There were more important matters now. He could deal with trivial facts later.  
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In Madain Sari...  
  
  
Twelve multicolored lights shone from twelve different pedestals, each under the picture of a particular Eidolon. Each held various crystals - one had Peridots; another had Opals; a third, Topazes; fourth, Amethyst; another, Aquamarine; even another, a Garnet; one, a Pumice; another, a crystal encased in Dark Matter; one pedestal had a Sapphire and a bottle filled with a sweet-smelling liquid, another had Rubies, Emeralds, Moonstones, and Diamonds in a mix, another had a Pinion from the legendary Pheonix, and a final one, oddly enough, had not a crystal, but a ribbon.  
  
The moogles who'd seen the flashes approached cautiously, mainly because a barrier protected the jewels from being stolen, and they did not want to be zapped. Suddenly, they heard voices, each one saying and repeating the same thing, in sync, as if droning a gloomy chorus:  
  
"It is coming.   
The Eidolon is coming.   
It is coming.   
The Black is coming.   
It is coming.  
It must be stopped.  
It is coming.  
Its powers will destroy this world..."  
  
  
"What's going on, kupo?" a small moogle asked his big brother.  
"I don't know, kupo...but it doesn't look goo-"  
  
  
All of a sudden, without warning, the voices uttered a final verse:  
  
"We must protect..."  
  
  
And with those final words, a blast erupted from the center of the Eidolon Wall, knocking away some of the Moogles who were close. The lights emanating from the crystals began to intermingle with each other, their energies gathering. With a final eruption and earthquake, the lights exploded in a beam so bright, and so huge, it enveloped the entire ruin. Before long, the pillar of light had completely surrounded Madain Sari, extending into the infinite reaches of the sky...  
  
  
In Alexandria Castle, Dagger collapsed on the floor, with Zidane picking her up and screaming her name. Around the world, various young children were going into strange trances, uttering the same haunting song that was heard in the ruins of Madain Sari...   
  
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Amarant Coral is a shadowy, red-dreadlocked haired man who became a teammate of Zidane's, due to some unexpected twist of events.  
Lani is a disgraced axe-wielding bounty hunter who turned partner and friend of Amarant.  
  
  
  
End of Chapter 1  
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Is this a cliffhanger? It is a cliffhanger! Nani?  
  
Anyway, I'll get Chapter 3 up soon...thanks for reading so far! ^^; 


	3. Chapter 2

A Voice from the Past   
by Jojo  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
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The next morning...  
  
"Is she going to be all right?"  
  
"Yes, yes, of course she will, Master Zidane. But...she will be asleep for quite awhile. Whatever had afflicted her seemed to have taken a vast amount of energy from her. It is most unusu-"  
  
"Have you figured out what the hell just happened?"  
  
"No...it is something I must look into while we wait for the Queen's recovery. It is the best I can do, for now."  
  
  
Doctor Tot bowed his head in respect and wandered off into the library, his feathered brow furrowed. Zidane paced along the floor of Queen Garnet's chambers, uncertain and worried about the unexpected turn of events. It seemed that Garnet was not the only one afflicted with whatever the attack was. From the news that Pluto Knights Blutzen and Kohel had reported, the hospitals and inns of Alexandria, Lindblum, and the recovering Burmecia were nearly full to bursting of young children, all under the ages of 10, who seemed to have suffered the same fate as Garnet. Not least troubling was the fact that a group of these children, no older than 6, no younger than 3, were uttering strange incantations before going into seizure and collapsing. From sailors traveling from the Outer Continent, a strange pillar of light was claimed to be seen from the direction of the Summoner Village, Madain Sari. And chilling, most chilling, was the fact that no one had been able to get word from the Genomes and Mages of the Black Mage Village or the dwarves of Conde Petie.  
  
  
"M-master Zidane?" a voice came from the door.  
  
Zidane went from Dagger's side to open the door. Steiner was there, pale-faced and visibly shaken. He was still in shock from Dagger's collapse, and had spent half the night crying his eyes out.  
  
"Any news, Steiner?" Zidane asked. He was so set aback from the events that he even forgot to call the knight "Rusty," his favorite nickname for the rusty-armored soldier.  
  
"N-none so far. We have t-tried to get in contact with everyone we know." Steiner said.  
  
Who were you able to contact?" Zidane asked.  
  
"E-er...Dragon Knights Sir Fratley and Freya of Burmecia, Mistress Eiko Caro-"  
  
"Rusty, if you keep giving me their titles, we'll be here till tomorrow. You don't have to be so formal, y'know," Zidane said, some of his wit coming back to him.  
  
"Y-yes sir...it's just so h-hard, you know-"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Steiner, I know. Now, tell me again, who've you found so far?" asked Zidane, in a softer tone.  
  
Breathing in a couple of times, Steiner reported, "We were able to get in touch with Sir Fratley and Freya in Burmecia. We've also contacted Regent Cid and Lady Hilda. We've sent an envoy to Daguerreo to request help from their scholars, and several of our scholars are in the library now with Master Tot."  
  
"Okay...wait, you say you got in touch with Cid? How about Eiko?" Zidane asked.  
  
"...she had fainted as well, but she woke up right after. She will be arriving soon with her parents," Steiner replied.  
  
"...I wonder why...oh, wait, have you found Amarant and Lani yet?" Zidane asked, remembering they had said they were investigating the Outer Continent.  
  
"..." Steiner remained silent.  
  
"Steiner?"  
  
"We...we sent our best search crews to comb the the Outer Continent...but none of them were able to even get past the shorelines. Every airship that approached too closely towards Madain Sari or the Iifa Tree were rebounded or crashed...," Steiner said, his eyes filled with cold fury.  
  
"...you mean, there's no way in? You haven't found anyone from the Mist Continent?" Zidane asked, shocked. If they hadn't been able to get anyone, that meant...  
  
"No sir. Not even Miss Mikoto." Steiner said, his tone hushed.  
  
If Mikoto, Zidane's younger sister, hadn't escaped, he was sure no one else could have. Zidane shut his eyes to tune out the thought...his little sister, who had only started to experience life, dead...  
  
"But...we were able to get a hold of two guests, whom I'm sure you'll be pleased to se-"  
  
"UNCLE ZIDANE!"  
  
Before he knew it, he was plowed down by what seemed to be two walking, frayed coats, only different by their colors. He couldn't help it - he smiled and hugged the two youngsters.  
  
"AiAi and Bibi! How'd you get here?"  
  
AiAi and Bibi were two of the children created before Vivi had died. The two eldest of the group, AiAi and Bibi were the most rambunctious and mischievous of the group. They remind me of Eiko, Zidane thought. As Vivi and Eiko had hung around each other the most during their adventures, it came to Zidane as no surprise.  
  
"We went to go on a trip here!" AiAi squeaked, her round, yellow eyes glowing as bright as her apple-red coat.  
  
"But on our way on the ship to here, we saw the big explosion!" Bibi piped in, his blueberry colored coat shaking as he spoke.  
  
"And we couldn't turn back, so here we are!" AiAi and Bibi said, jumping up and down.  
  
Zidane chuckled. For two kids escaping from a crisis situation, AiAi and Bibi looked as if they were having the time of their lives. Glancing at the sleeping Garnet, however, he knew that she wouldn't get any rest if the twins became rowdy.  
  
"Steiner, take AiAi and Bibi to the kitchens. I betcha more than anything they'll love to see Quina again."  
  
No sooner had he said those words, AiAi and Bibi dashed off, yelling Quina's name while running towards the kitchens. Steiner bowed hastily and ran off, hoping that he wouldn't lose the twin Mages. A few moments later, a few loud thumps and clanks of metal seemed to emanate from the direction of the stairs, along with loud "YAA!!!" and a couple of innocent laughs.  
  
'Steiner must've fallen down the stairs again,' Zidane thought to himself, shaking his head.  
  
He sat on a chair and faced Garnet again, her face still sweaty and pale from the night before. Dabbing her head with a towel on the bedside table, Zidane wondered what could have done this to her and the rest of the children of the world...but...  
  
Zidane started, rising up from his chair. Not all the children had been unconscious. Eiko had come out relatively unscathed...and so had the Mage Twins.  
  
  
"But what does it mean, dammit? The last time Dagger fainted was when that memory got implanted on her...," Zidane said to himself, scratching at his head furiously.  
  
"Precisely. You've got more edge than I give you credit."  
  
"Huh?" Zidane turned around.  
  
"I've done a study, and I have news which will interest you...," Doctor Tot said, his expression bright as though he had solved all the world's problems.  
  
  
"You have? Tell me everything!"  
  
  
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Here we go. Chapter 3's on its way! Looks like I've done another cliffhanger ~_~; 


End file.
